


Concerning Stingrose

by cmon_eileen



Category: The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Hobbits, The Shire, hobbit lore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:13:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23626699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cmon_eileen/pseuds/cmon_eileen
Summary: The Stingrose is not, in fact, a rose--nor is it a lily, or a bluebell, nor indeed anything closely related to most flowers commonly found in the Shire. But they have always been a particular favorite of Sam Gamgee, for they have always reminded him of someone very close to him.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 19





	Concerning Stingrose

**Author's Note:**

> its MY interpretation of the work i get to decide how far the greenfields are from hobbiton and make up speculative magic flora and fauna!!!!!!

In the northern reaches of the Shire, just beyond the Brockenborings, there lie the Greenfields, a great stretch of long and untamed grass that is dotted with colorful wildflowers in the spring and is a favorite place of hobbit-children in the winter for the white and snowy expanse it becomes, perfect for snowball fights and the building of snow-hobbits. Beyond them are hills that grow taller and steeper the farther north one proceeds, and as the Greenfields begin to slope upwards, a small smattering of trees appears, which, some matter of yards later, develops into a thicket. Within this matter of yards, but only in the waning days of summer, a rare type of flora can be found: though neither documented nor officially named until its brief appearance in a passage of Meriadoc Brandybuck’s _Herblore of the Shire,_ a handful of North Farthing hobbits know them as “starlilies,” while in Hobbiton they are more commonly recognized under the moniker “midnight bluebells.” In _Herblore of the Shire,_ Brandybuck is partial to the alais “Stingrose,” a name which alludes to a unique quality of the flower’s nature.

The Stingrose is not, in fact, a rose--nor is it a lily, or a bluebell, nor indeed anything closely related to most flowers commonly found in the Shire. They typically reside farther north--there are hillsides in Arthedain, namely the faces of the Hills of Evendim which are bestrewn with tens of thousands of them, making the slopes bluer than the sky by day and brighter than the moon by night. For this is the most fascinating peculiarity of the species--during the night, the flowers emanate a gentle blue light. In addition, they also radiate slight warmth, and are thus sometimes considered to be the only “warm-blooded” flower. Though the temperature at the core of the flower seldom surpasses a comfortable 65 degrees, it can make all the difference to insects that find themselves at colder elevations when the chilly night begins to settle in. The flowers offer a warm haven, and in return, the insects brush against their beds of anthers, collecting pollen, which, morning come, they fly away to spread to new fields. The flowers are considered something of a bane to farmers, as some of the insects they attract are known to ruin crops, but generally at lower altitudes and farther south, where nights are milder and not so bitter and cold, they cannot compete with other flowering plants--and thus are relegated to northern hillsides and a small, unassuming nook at the edge of a field on the fringes of the Shire. 

Concerning the aforementioned name for the flower, Stingrose (a play on primrose)--this was coined by Samwise Gamgee, a gardener from Hobbiton at the tail end of the Third Age and the waxing of the Fourth. The Gamgees were long-time friends and trusted gardeners in service of the Bagginses, and as a child, Samwise would sometimes stay for dinner or supper or tea at Bag End, the residence of Bilbo Baggins and his younger cousin and heir to the property, Frodo Baggins. Bilbo, much to the contrary of typical hobbit nature, had been on grand adventures and seen fantastic sights beyond the Shire, and had brought back with him tales that fascinated a young Sam. In particular, Sam’s eyes would widen whenever Bilbo would recount an instance wherein he would draw his Elven blade which he called Sting. In front of the fire, in Bag End’s warm and cozy interior, Sam would listen raptly as Bilbo told of the times when Sting began to glow with a pale blue light that warned that danger was near (It should of course be mentioned that the Fourth Age may never have been ushered in were it not for Sam’s bravery, and on his quest, Sting fell into his very hands). 

When Sam was young, his father, Hamfast Gamgee, concerned in rearing his son to maintain the family trade, brought him to the Greenfields to show him the rare flora that bloomed there. It was a touch farther than the pleasant afternoon stroll that usually fulfills a hobbit’s daily quota for walking, but on the September day in question, the daylight lingered long, and the two hobbits, setting out after second-breakfast and having dinner from a wicker basket on a pleasant picnic-stop along the way, had an ample amount of time to reach the Greenfields and the thicket by dusk. After settling for supper in the grass of the Greenfields and watching the sun slowly fall below the horizon, Hamfast packed the forks and knives and jars of jelly away into the wicker basket and told Samwise to follow him up the gently sloping hill. Sam held his father’s hand for guidance, being barely big enough to see over the tall grass, until it gave way to moss and soil, kept cool underfoot by the shade of a small smattering of trees. Sprouting from the dirt, Sam found, were several blue patches of some type of wild flower that he had never seen before--and they were beginning, faintly, to glow. 

“They are called midnight bluebells,” Sam’s father explained, crouching next to his son, who had run over to a patch of the flowers to examine them more closely, hands and knees planted in the dirt, carefully scrutinizing the glowing petals. With every passing moment as the sky grew darker and the air grew cooler, the flowers shone a little more brightly.

“They are just like Bilbo’s blade!” Sam cried in excitement, a claim that was never fully understood by Hamfast.


End file.
